Suspect arrested for allegedly setting on fire and killing a woman on a NYC subway car

Source: CNN

A 33-year-old man was arrested Sunday after allegedly setting on fire and killing a woman on a New York subway train in what authorities called a “brutal murder” and an example of “depraved behavior.”

The assailant approached the woman without saying a word, ignited her clothes and she was enveloped in flames “in a matter of seconds,” police said. Surveillance video appears to show the suspect sitting on a station bench and watching the woman burn as police officers responded.

“Unbeknownst to the officers who responded, the suspect had stayed on the scene and was seated on a bench on the platform just outside the train car, and the body-worn cameras on the responding officers produced a very clear detailed look at the killer,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. She noted the suspect appeared calm when he initially approached the victim.

The suspect was identified as Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, a 33-year-old Guatemalan citizen who entered the US unlawfully sometime in the past six years, according to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson Jeff Carter.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/22/us/nyc-subway-fire-woman-death/index.html